Liberal Democrat led Councils can cut Crime
December 29, 2006 1:22 PM
2007 brings with it some challenges that the Rugby Liberal Democrats are willing to meet head on.
It makes me angry when I meet people who have suffered because of crime and have had their lives ruined by crime. We all want to live in a safe and secure environment. Liberal Democrats want an opportunity to show how we can make that happen. But we need your help. I want invite you to join with us. We Can Cut Crime. Liberal Democrats are already working at a local level to cut crime. Through positive and pragmatic measures, our Party has had great success in cutting crime. In Liverpool, we have slashed domestic burglary by 24% through such practical policies as gating off back alleys between homes, and in Newcastle violent crime has fallen by 12%, after a rise of 54% in 2002-04, when its Council was under Labour control.
By contrast our opponents talk tough, but Labour has presided over the wholesale degeneration of our criminal justice system: overcrowded prisons; one of the highest re-offending rates in the western world; falling conviction rates for serious violent crimes like rape; high levels of public fear of crime and antisocial behaviour; a demoralised probation service; and constant attacks by the government on judges. Making matters worse, Tony Blair has put more than 3,000 new criminal offences on to the statute book since coming to power. His legacy is clear: tough talk, headline-grabbing gimmicks and poor performance. As for the Conservatives, who knows what they think? One day David Cameron wants to hug a hoodie, the next he is calling for ever-larger prison numbers.
By contrast, we have effective ideas for cutting crime. Together, we can put these into action with concrete results. Ours is a party that is liberal in principle, but more effective in cutting crime than our opponents. The Party is currently considering a policy document entitled Crime in the Community and our Shadow Home Secretary, Nick Clegg to look at innovative thinking about the best and most practical ways to cut crime. This will include a new approach to sentencing, the reform of our over-crowded prison system, tackling town centre violence and closing the revolving door of repeat offending. We know that crime can be reduced.
But we also want your help. Below are three questions on crime. Please consider them carefully and let me know your views. Your experiences and opinions will be crucial to informing our policy.
1. Have you ever been the victim of crime and, if so, would you be prepared to share your experiences?
2. How do you think that we can make prison, and other aspects of the criminal justice system, work better?
3. What is the crime issues that most concerns you in your area?
This year will see some challenges from Crime to Climate Change. We invite you to work with us to resolve them.
Please do send us your responses (info@rugbylibdems.org.uk) to the questions above and help us. With every best wish for the year ahead.
Yours truly,
Cllr Jerry Roodhouse Leader Liberal Democrat group
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